Understanding the public’s knowledge of marine ecosystem restoration important to develop effective management policy

Ecological restoration is now regarded as an important management tool to reverse the degradation of many marine ecosystems. The United Nation has launched a new initiative entitled the “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030)” that aims to halt further degradation and to accelerate existing restoration efforts for land, aquatic, and marine ecosystems. The need for restoration is also stressed in EU legislation such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Birds and Habitats Directive, the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive and the Common Fisheries Policy. This research, as part of the EU Horizon 2020 MERCES (Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas) Project, involved comprehensive national level surveys of the Norwegian and Italian publics’ knowledgeability of, and attitudes toward marine restoration activity in their country’s respective marine waters.

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